Master carrier for drapery traverse rod

ABSTRACT

A drapery traverse rod master carrier is provided with a detachable drapery support arm adapted for attachment at various locations to a mounting portion on a master carrier, and for interchange from right to left to permit either one of a pair of master carriers to carry the outer, overlapping margin of the drapery. The mounting portion on the master carrier has holes spaced along its length. The support arm may be attached with a screw and nut through any one of the holes. Flanges extending at an angle from the mounting portion serve to keep the support arm in fixed orientation and prevent the nut from rotating. The support arm which carries the overlapping margin of the drapery is provided with two arm portions, one of which may be called primary and the other secondary. The primary arm supports the overlapping margin while the secondary arm is spaced laterally of the primary arm at the same level and stepped rearwardly thereof to accommodate a gradual angle between the general plane of the drapery and the overlapping marginal portion.

United States Patent [191 [111 3,736,620 Williamson June 5, 1973 15 1 MASTER CARRIER FOR DRAPERY Primary Examiner--Bernard A. Gelak TRAVERSE ROD Inventor: John E. Williamson, West Barrington, R1.

[73] Assignee: Kenny Manufacturing Company,

Warwick, RI.

[22] Filed: Jan. 17, 1972 211 Appl. No.: 218,171

[52] U.S. Cl. ..l6/87.4 R, 16/93 D, 16/96 D [51] Int. Cl. ..A47h 13/00 .[58] Field of Search ..16/87.4 R, 87.6 R, I 16/87.8, 93 D, 94 D, 95 D, 96 D; 160/126, 330

[56} References Cited 1 UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,796,777 3/1931 Boye ..160/126 3,354,498 11/1967 Salzmann..... ..,.16/87.4 R 1,467,815 9/1923 Roemier ..151/44 3,040,373 6/1962 Graber et al..... ...l6/93 D 3,345,676 10/1967 Graber et al.... ....16/87.6 R 3,151,666 10/1964 Ford "16/96 D X 3,470,578 10/1969 Grabei' et al ..16/94 D 3,665,550 5/1972 MacFarlane et al ..16/93 D Assistant Examiner-Peter A. Aschenbrenner Attorney-Robert B. Russell [57] ABSTRACT A drapery traverse rod master carrier is provided with a detachable drapery support arm adapted for attachment at various locations to a mounting portion on a master carrier, and for interchange from right to left to permit either one of a pair of master carriers to carry the outer, overlapping margin of the drapery. The mounting portion on the master carrier has holes spaced along its length. The support arm may be attached with a screw and nut through any one of the holes. Flanges extending at an angle from the mount ing portion serve to keep the support arm in fixed orientation and prevent the nut from rotating. The support arm which carries the overlapping margin of the drapery is provided with two arm portions, one of which may be called primary and the other secondary. The primary arm supports the overlapping margin while the secondary arm is spaced laterally of the primary arm at the same level and. stepped rearwardly thereof to accommodate a gradual angle between the general plane of the drapery and the overlapping marginal portion.

1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION eral well known, involving an elongate hollow rod having a slot in the rear defining a trackway in which one or more master carriers and a number of idler carriers slide. The carriers support the drapery, usually by means of drapery hooks which hook onto the carriers and are fastened to the. drapery fabric. The motion of the master carriers, which carry the leading edges of the draperies, is controlled by a system of draw cords acting over pulleys and allowing the attached drapery to be drawn into an open or closed position by manipulating the draw cords. A part of the master carrier to which the drapery hooks are attached may be called a drapery support arm, and it usually extends lengthwise longitudinally of the master carrier body.

In some cases traverse rod arrangements may employ more than one master carrier moving simultaneously in opposite directions (the two-way draw" arrangement).

In the two-way draw arrangement, the support arm of one of a pair of master carriers is constructed to stand outwardly from the carrier body further than the other. This allows the two support arms, and thus the corresponding drapery portions, to be juxtaposed in an overlapping position when the master carriers are drawn to the closed position. Since drapery modes and tastes change, and also since an initial installation may not drape well or appear attractive with the overlap in one direction, it is often desirable to adjust or to reverse the overlapping arrangement.

Although there have been proposals for providing detachable and adjustable support arms for master carriers, these proposals did not achieve the ease of operation of the present invention and approximated it only at relatively high cost of manufacture.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a detachable and reversible support arm and a new type of mounting portion for an otherwise conventional master'carrier for traverse rods. The support arm is easily mountable on the aid of only a screwdriver, eliminating the need for a wrench or pliers to prevent the support arm or nut from rotating.

A horizontal first flange extends forwardly from the lower margin of the master carrier body, and an elongated mounting portion depends from the front margin of the said first flange. The mounting portion is perforated to provide a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes, each of which can receive a screw which is employed to attach the drapery support arm to the master carrier, at any of several positions along the mounting portion. When a nut is in position behind the mounting portion to receive the screw through one of the holes, the nut is located sufficiently close to the first flange to prevent the nut from rotating.

A second flange extends horizontally forward from the lower margin of the mounting portion. When the support arm is in position on the front of the mounting portion, a part of the lower edge of the support arm abuts the second flange. This arrangement both holds the support arm in operative position and prevents the support arm from rotating while the screw is being tightened.

The support arm takes one of two forms. In the form which is intended to carry the overlapping margin of the curtain, it comprises a primary arm and a secondary arm with an attaching portion between. The primary arm is offset to the front sufficiently to permit adequate overlap. The secondary arm extends in the opposite direction and is set inwardly about half way to the plane of the master carrier. Thus, a curtain hook hooked onto the secondary arm supports the curtain in a manner so as to provide a gradual angle toward the overlapping margin. In the other form of the support arm it is adapted for carrying the underlapping margin of the curtain and no secondary arm is provided. The attach ing portion is provided with a hole through which the affixing screw passes, so as to enter into any one of the holes in the mounting portion, thus permitting various positions of adjustment and the reversal of the overlapping and underlapping support arms from one carrier to the other by the simple manipulation of a screw driver from the front of the carrier, requiring only that the nut be held by a finger behind the mounting portion for the purpose of starting the screw in the nut.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view in exploded relation of a conventional traverse rod with a pair of master carriers embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan sectional view of the support arm and mounting portion taken along the line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of an entire carrier body.

FIG. 4 is a front view of a master carrier with an inner support arm attached, and

FIG. 5 is an end view in cross-section of a traverse rod and master carrier, with an inner support arm attached.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Shown in FIG. I is a fragmented] view in perspective of a traverse rod 10 and master carriers indicated at 12 and 14, arranged in a two-way draw arrangement. As is conventional, the traverse rod 10 is an elongated tubular metal member formed with a slot or trackway indicated at 16 facing the rear. Bearing elements 18 are provided on each master carrier to support the carrier in sliding relation in the trackway 16. A system of draw cords 20 and pulleys (not shown) provides a mechanism for controlling the motion of the carriers in the trackway.

Extending downwardly from the bearing elements I8 each master carrier is provided with a central body portion 22 and a downwardly and outwardly extending web 24. Extending from the web 24 and in an outward, substantially horizontal direction is a first flange 26 from which, in turn, dependsa mounting portion 28, at the lower end of which is a second outwardly extending horizontal flange 30.

The mounting portions 28 are perforated centrally along their longitudinal axis to provide a plurality of holes 31. Drapery support arms 32 and 34 are mounted on mounting portions 28 of the master carriers 12 and 14 respectively each by means of a screw 36 and nut 38. The screw 36 passes through perforations 40 loc'ated centrally and axially of the arms 32 and 34,

thence through the perforation 31 in the mounting portion 28 and thence to the nut 38 positioned at the rear face of the mounting portion 28. The respective perforations or holes 31 and 40 are located with relation to the width of the arms 32 and 34 and the nut 38 so that during opertion, installation, adjustment or reversal, the arms 32 and 34 are prevented from rotating by flange 30 and the nut 38 is prevented from rotation by flange 26. In this way these operations can be accomplished by the simple manipulation of a screw driver from the front, and all that need be done behind the mounting portion 28 is to hold the nut in place with one finger until the screw is started in the nut. During operation, the flange 30 holds the arms 32 and 34 in the correct horizontal position. As shown, the arm 32 has a shorter forward projection than the arm 34, and therefore the arm 34 provides the overlapping support for the forward most curtain margin.

Ready interchange and/or adjustment can be effected by a simple operation of the screws as above described.

In the arrangement shown the overlap is accomplished by the support arm 34 which may be called a primary arm, together with a secondary arm extending in the opposite direction from the attaching screw 36. The secondary arm 35 is stepped inwardly from the line of arm 34, but outwardly of the plane of the master carrier. The purpose of the arm 35 is to provide a more or less gradual change in the curtain line as it approaches the point of overlap. Thus, when a 3 inches spacing is used between curtain hooks, the curtain hooks are hooked entirely onto primary arm 34, but when a 4 inches spacing is used, the second hook from the end is mounted on the secondary arm 35.

The relationship between the locations of the centers of the holes 31 and and the width of the arms 32 and 34 can be expressed in the following manner. If the centers of the holes 31 are spaced from the flange 30 by a distance d, the width of the support arms (in the area of holes 40) will be 2d (or slightly less) and the holes 40 will be located centrally of the support arm. In this way, the support arm can be reversed in direction and still function in an identical manner. In addition, the flange 26 must be positioned above the centers of holes 31 sufficiently to accommodate the nut 38 in axial alignment with holes 31 at the rear face of the mounting portion 28, but also close enough to the flange 26 to prevent the nut 38 from turning while the screw 36 is being tightened or loosened.

Although the traverse rod and master carrier herein illustrated are presented with the trackway and bearing elements in the rear of the traverse rod, the mechanism is also commonly constructed with the trackway on the underside of the traverse rod. Such an arrangment as well as other possible arrangements are well known in the art and do not need detailed dicussion here. It is to be understood that the present invention may easily be adapted for use with such various mechanisms.

I claim:

1. A drapery traverse rod and master carrier combination comprising; an elongated mounting portion depending from said master carrier and extending lengthwise of said carrier in the direction of movement of said carrier, a substantially horizontal flange on said mounting portion extending outwardly therefrom along the lower part thereof, said mounting portion perforated to form a plurality of holes therethrough, spaced along the mounting portion, said holes being adapted to receive screws, the center of each said hole being spaced from said flange by a distance, d, a primary drapery support arm extending in the direction of movement of said carrier, a portion of said primary arm set forwardly of and parallel to said carrier for supporting a margin of a curtain in overlapping relation to an opposed margin of another curtain, a secondary support arm associated with said primary arm positioned at the same elevation as said primary arm forwardly of and parallel to said carrier but rearwardly of said primary arm for stepping the margin of said overlapping curtain gradually toward the point of overlap, said arms being joined at a portion having a vertical dimension substantially equal to but not greater than 2d, said portion being perforated centrally to provide at least one screw hole in complementary position to one of said holes in said mounting position, means for affixing said portion to the outer side of said mounting portion so that the lower edge of said portion abuts said outwardly extending flange, including a detachable screw extending through said screw hole in said portion and one of said holes in said mounting portion, a nut for receiving and securing said screw, and means operatively associated with the rear wall of said carrier for holding said nut against rotation. 

1. A drapery traverse rod and master carrier combination comprising; an elongated mounting portion depending from said master carrier and extending lengthwise of said carrier in the direction of movement of said carrier, a substantially horizontal flange on said mounting portion extending outwardly therefrom along the lower Part thereof, said mounting portion perforated to form a plurality of holes therethrough, spaced along the mounting portion, said holes being adapted to receive screws, the center of each said hole being spaced from said flange by a distance, d, a primary drapery support arm extending in the direction of movement of said carrier, a portion of said primary arm set forwardly of and parallel to said carrier for supporting a margin of a curtain in overlapping relation to an opposed margin of another curtain, a secondary support arm associated with said primary arm positioned at the same elevation as said primary arm forwardly of and parallel to said carrier but rearwardly of said primary arm for stepping the margin of said overlapping curtain gradually toward the point of overlap, said arms being joined at a portion having a vertical dimension substantially equal to but not greater than 2d, said portion being perforated centrally to provide at least one screw hole in complementary position to one of said holes in said mounting position, means for affixing said portion to the outer side of said mounting portion so that the lower edge of said portion abuts said outwardly extending flange, including a detachable screw extending through said screw hole in said portion and one of said holes in said mounting portion, a nut for receiving and securing said screw, and means operatively associated with the rear wall of said carrier for holding said nut against rotation. 